Thursday, September 8, 2011

Two Out of Three

I decided this past week-end that I would use Pinterest for something other than a major time suck. I decided to use it to help us meal plan. We are not good meal planners during the summer. There is always so much going on. We don’t like to cook casseroles, pastas, etc. when it’s hot. Oh yeah, and we’re lazy.

This past Sunday I got on Pinterest to start looking at all of the lovely recipes I had pinned. About 15 minutes later Nate asked me how my meal planning was going. I asked if he thought a squirrel with spirit fingers was helpful…

He told me that it was not helpful unless I planned to eat that squirrel. It’s amazing he hasn’t filed for divorce. And how could you eat a squirrel with such spirit?

I then redirected myself back to my recipes board and picked out a few recipes to purchase ingredients for. Today I will review two meals and a dessert found on Pinterest.

We’ve had some pretty cool weather the past few days so we decided to bust out the ol’ Crock Pot. This recipe looked delicious. We, however, did not enjoy it. The mac & cheese was very bland. I am one of the world’s pickiest eaters so if I say something is bland…it’s bland. The custard also curdled a little. I’m thinking it’s because my noodles were too warm when I added them to the cold custard ingredients. It didn’t curdle a lot and I don’t think that had any affect on the overall bland taste.

Ike, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the mac & cheese…

(I made Nate eat this bowl because he was the bad parent photographing the dog instead of making him behave. Ike isn’t allowed table food…unless Nate thinks it makes a funny picture.)

We will be sticking with my grandma’s recipe for our Mac & Cheese needs.

Nate has this weird obsession with cast iron cookware. I won’t argue though because this cookie was one of the most wonderfully delicious cookies I have ever eaten. I would suggest you buy a cast iron skillet solely to make this cookie in. Just the right amount of crisp to soft cookie ratio.

We are suckers for comfort food. It’s a really good thing that we decided to take up running. I think.

Nate and I both really liked this recipe. We will be making it again. We used instant mashed potatoes instead of making them from scratch. (Yes, Mom. I know this bothers you. I apologize.) The recipe called for 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 packet of dry ranch dressing. I took the advice from some of the comments and used 2 cans of soup with 1 ranch packet and threw it in the Crock pot with some pork chops. Supper was served 6 hours later. Super easy and tasty. (Side note #1: I didn’t take pictures of this because I think pictures of meat are disgusting. Even the one above. Side note #2: don’t eat the leftovers before running. Uggg.)

Have you tried any of those yummy looking recipes from Pinterest? Any luck? Do share!

I decided this past week-end that I would use Pinterest for something other than a major time suck. I decided to use it to help us meal plan. We are not good meal planners during the summer. There is always so much going on. We don’t like to cook casseroles, pastas, etc. when it’s hot. Oh yeah, and we’re lazy.

This past Sunday I got on Pinterest to start looking at all of the lovely recipes I had pinned. About 15 minutes later Nate asked me how my meal planning was going. I asked if he thought a squirrel with spirit fingers was helpful…

He told me that it was not helpful unless I planned to eat that squirrel. It’s amazing he hasn’t filed for divorce. And how could you eat a squirrel with such spirit?

I then redirected myself back to my recipes board and picked out a few recipes to purchase ingredients for. Today I will review two meals and a dessert found on Pinterest.

We’ve had some pretty cool weather the past few days so we decided to bust out the ol’ Crock Pot. This recipe looked delicious. We, however, did not enjoy it. The mac & cheese was very bland. I am one of the world’s pickiest eaters so if I say something is bland…it’s bland. The custard also curdled a little. I’m thinking it’s because my noodles were too warm when I added them to the cold custard ingredients. It didn’t curdle a lot and I don’t think that had any affect on the overall bland taste.

Ike, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the mac & cheese…

(I made Nate eat this bowl because he was the bad parent photographing the dog instead of making him behave. Ike isn’t allowed table food…unless Nate thinks it makes a funny picture.)

We will be sticking with my grandma’s recipe for our Mac & Cheese needs.

Nate has this weird obsession with cast iron cookware. I won’t argue though because this cookie was one of the most wonderfully delicious cookies I have ever eaten. I would suggest you buy a cast iron skillet solely to make this cookie in. Just the right amount of crisp to soft cookie ratio.

We are suckers for comfort food. It’s a really good thing that we decided to take up running. I think.

Nate and I both really liked this recipe. We will be making it again. We used instant mashed potatoes instead of making them from scratch. (Yes, Mom. I know this bothers you. I apologize.) The recipe called for 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 packet of dry ranch dressing. I took the advice from some of the comments and used 2 cans of soup with 1 ranch packet and threw it in the Crock pot with some pork chops. Supper was served 6 hours later. Super easy and tasty. (Side note #1: I didn’t take pictures of this because I think pictures of meat are disgusting. Even the one above. Side note #2: don’t eat the leftovers before running. Uggg.)

Yum! The cookie and the pork chop & mashed potatoes look so good!You're making me hungry!

I've tried two things that I found on Pinterest - the Spinach Lasagna Rolls I blogged about a while back and spinach enchiladas. I changed a few things in both recipes because I'm a rebel like that (and I didn't like some of the things they included).

OMG! That cookie would steal my husband's heart and those pork chops and potatoes look phenomenal! Seriously, I have a serious Pinterest addiction.. but particularly with food and style! (house stuff obviously too, but I was seriously surprised by my food and style obsessions!) http://pinterest.com/designbuildlove/

I've definitely pinned a few. I tried banana ice cream... well, since I don't like bananas and even with cocoa in it, it tasted like bananas, it wasn't a winner. I also tried taco casserole and it was only alright. It's great to hear about others that people haven't only pinned but tried! Thanks for sharing.

What a great idea. I'm too busy pinning and drooling to actually get a list together. That cookie looks delicious; we just got a cast iron skillet the other day, too, so it's time to move from savory to sweet.

hahaha a squirrel with spirit fingers. We had a dead squirrel in front of our house for the longest time and our joke was that we would eat it...we're gross like that...

I am always looking for new ways to cook pork chops because they always come out dry for me. Not sure if it's me (likely) or the meat itself. And the fact that it's made in a crock pot...I'm sold. Bookmarking it now.

Um squirrels with spirit fingers are essential! You need a little burst of energy while planning a meal! Okay I've thought about making those pork chops several times but I'm terrified because that was the best picture they had of it...I'm very visual! I seriously can't wait to try it!